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Project Noah Nature School
Odontomyia sp
About 20mm long. Large wrap-around eyes; black thorax with a yellow bum-bag attached; abdomen is interesting with a pale teal underneath and black on top which makes for 'notches' visible from above and side-on. Wings notable for rapid narrowing to outer ends making their shape dagger like.
Working through flowers in a local nature reserve.
Stratiomyidae first guess... and I still want to know what those little yellow tanks are for. Many flies, sawflies and wasps have similar. What do they keep in there?
"I thought the long paired spines on the scutellum were neat, but turn out to be a regular occurrence in the Stratiomyidae. The scutellum is your little 'yellow tank' and is a posterior dorsal plate of the mesonotum. The spines and sensory setae of the scutellum are important the identification of many flies. It must play a role in flight and wing movement but it is hard to find any studies that relate specifically to the role of the scutellum. The flight plane in most flies goes right down between the mesonotum and the scutellum. " - Lauren Zarate
As the name might suggest, the spikes are actually extraoral teeth, which would make my life much easier ;-)...
Wow thanks so much Lauren. Excellent information. So it doesn't contain anything out of the ordinary like extra fuel :-) . I'll keep searching for reasons why they might often be so brightly coloured. I have a bee and a sawfly (wasp type) with similar... all bright yellow.
Nice fly. I thought the long paired spines on the scutellum were neat, but turn out to be a regular occurrence in the Stratiomyidae. The scutellum is your little "yellow tank" and is a posterior dorsal plate of the mesonotum. The spines and sensory setae of the scutellum are important the identification of many flies. It must play a role in flight and wing movement but it is hard to find any studies that relate specifically to the role of the scutellum. The flight plane in most flies goes right down between the mesonotum and the scutellum.
Stratiomyidae, Odontomyia sp., love this name ;-)...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32977858@N0...
http://lifeunseen.com/index2_item_1773.p...
Spotted on Jan 1, 2014
Submitted on Jan 1, 2014
+1
